SCOTTISH Water are putting up their charges for the first time in four years.

The 2.8 per cent rise, from April 1, means that people living in a band D property will pay £404.46 next year.

The average amount customers would pay in 2013-14 is £334, Scottish Water said.

Bills in Scotland are expected to be about £50 below the average paid by households in England and Wales to private water companies, the firm said.

Council tax includes combined charges for water supply and waste-water collection. Scottish Water's charges for this have remained the same since 2009.

Douglas Millican, interim chief executive, said: "We are working hard to ensure that in the next few years, charges remain stable while we continue to deliver vital investment.

"Our customers are benefiting from Scottish Water's continuing strong financial performance and its focus on delivering further efficiencies. That is why we have been able to restrict this price rise to only 2.8 per cent, delivering benefits to our customers.

"Our customers are continuing to see value in the charges they pay and improved service. The quality of our drinking water is the best it has ever been, we are continuing to improve the natural environment across Scotland, cutting water leaking from our pipes, and customer service is continuing to improve."

The increased charges are "a fair deal for our customers in these challenging economic conditions", the firm said.

Millican added: "These charges are helping to pay for the current £2.5billion investment programme which is delivering the investment that Scotland needs in its water infrastructure while providing thousands of construction jobs."

The rise was criticised by watchdog Consumer Focus Scotland and the Conservatives.

Trisha McAuley, senior director at the consumer group, said: "It is a particularly tough time for consumers. Many are already struggling to balance household budgets with food and utility bill price hikes and while this is Scottish Water's first price increase in four years, it is nevertheless unfortunate."

Tory infrastructure spokesman Alex Johnstone claimed: "While this rise still compares favourably with water charges south of the border, what this figure does not take into account is the fact Scottish Water is also given significant sums of money by the Scottish Government.

"So as well as the household bill, you have to factor in people's taxes which would give you a higher figure than the £334 quoted today."

Labour MSP Richard Baker said families will be "dismayed" by the rise, which "comes on the heels of gas and electricity price rises, making it even more difficult for hard-working families to make ends meet".

He added: "There is a strong argument that this increase has come in response to the SNP cutting the budget for Scottish Water.

"Each small increase in costs combine to create a real and painful squeeze for families which makes for a very unhappy start to 2013 for tens of thousands of Scots."